Яe-Birth
by ThunderFlowers
Summary: During Kai and Aichi's final fight, a mysterious power cleans Kai's soul from the darkness by turning him into a small child with no memories of his past. Aichi decides to take care of the small child himself. For how long can Aichi keep this as a secret from his friends?
1. Prologue: By His Side

_Re-birth_

_Prologue_  
_By His Side_

He remembered that day clearly.

The painful memories were engraved in his head, fighting and yelling for attention. He had tried so many times to forget them without avail. They had left a scar on his heart which would not fade away.

He remembered the way that his darkened eyes were illuminated by the moonlight cast across his face, easing the darkness from his features. At that moment, his lifeless eyes looked alive again.

These were the eyes he had missed seeing of the one who had saved him and guided him in the past. To him, he had been a leader; strong and kind, although he never showed it. Aichi did not realise this at first, but he now knew that Kai was always by his side, watching him and making sure that he did not choose the wrong path. However, in the end, Kai had chosen the wrong path himself.

The thought was unbearably painful and it had brought the tears forming in the corner of his eyes to fall down his cheeks, allowing him to grieve for his friend.

Because this was the end.

The wind carried the clouds in a subtle movement, covering the shine of the moon. Aichi shivered, clutching his cards closely to himself, almost as if he wanted to gain the warmth and courage from his precious comrades. His vision was blurred with the tears that he tried to hold back and the memories of his time with his most important friend surfaced, holding him back from attacking.

He thought he had gotten rid of his weakness a long time ago but he couldn't do it, after all. Kai was his friend.

_My precious friend... like everyone._

Through the falling tears, a small yet warm smile grazed his face.

_I can't possibly..._

And when he had gathered enough courage to face his opponent one more time, he slowly raised his head.

_... defeat you._

His ocean blue eyes were instantly locked with the dark green ones, widening in confusion, fear and hurt.

The light withdrew from Kai's face, and darkness crept in, replacing it. Once more, the moon was covered by the clouds, casting an emotionless shadow dancing across his face.

His eyes were distant and lost, and a dark smirk had made its way across his face.

Aichi cautiously took a frightened step back, almost stumbling if he hadn't quickly regained his balance. He felt like he wanted to run away, far away from this torment, but Aichi stood still on his trembling legs, his hands gripping strongly onto the table to support him from falling.

He knew that there wasn't any time left for both him and Kai. He felt his own body grow heavy and weak as the energy was drained from his body, and he noticed that he had been panting heavily and shaking uncontrollably, perhaps with rage, but his current mind was focused on the only person before him.

A laugh resounded in the empty area at the rooftop, and Aichi turned to look away from him, shutting his eyes close. He didn't want to see him so weak and desperate. His laughter was dark and taunting, but it sounded empty and sorrowful, piercing through Aichi's soul.

_Stop it... Kai-kun..._

Kai was laughing and Aichi was crying, for him.

He dropped his cards and his hands slowly reached towards his ears, as if wanting to block that laughter. He wanted to hide or disappear from existence so he wouldn't be forced to face this Kai; this Kai-kun he didn't know at all.

_Stop it..._

And as if his desperate plea was answered, the cold laughter stopped. Aichi removed his hands from his ears, reaching to wipe his tears furiously with his sleeve.

He hated this. He hated how weak he was.

"...chi."

Aichi's head shot up to the direction of the voice, only to face Kai's emotionless expression. Had Kai just called him? Aichi smiled bitterly at the thought; Kai had never referred to him by his name since they had started their final fight.

_Not anymore._

* * *

"Aichi."

At first, Kai didn't like the way the foreign name to him sounded as he pronounced it for the first time in a while. It sounded too familiar and made him feel strangely warm. Those feelings were soon replaced with disgust and pure hatred, reminding him that this boy was the cause of all the anger and hurt he felt.

He had studied the expression of the Fighter before him, as he wiped his eyes furiously and steadied himself. He watched as his bangs covered his eyes; the only sign that told him he was still conscious was the movement of his shaking body and the uneven breathing.

Kai knew that he was losing, and didn't care anymore; all he had obtained lasted in a short amount of time, however, he had lost something irreplaceable in exchange of this fake happiness.

He didn't care.

His attention returned to the boy before him. It seemed like he didn't hear his name being called.

The second time he said the boy's name, it came out toneless and cold, reflecting the way he was feeling right now. No, he didn't feel anything.

Seeing the boy who he once considered a precious friend to him crying so desperately and painfully didn't get any sort of reaction from him. He felt empty, and nothing else. No hint of regret, pain, confusion or anger.

Nothing.

He didn't know if he was human anymore.

He had let the power consume him without caring about anyone or his own life. Right now, nothing mattered to him. He'd die alone because he had pushed away everyone close to him.

And that thought didn't even leave him saddened.

"K-Kai-kun..." He heard that boy's weak voice speak up, waiting for an explanation to why he had called his name so suddenly.

Kai smirked darkly, his voice calm and emotionless. "I'm waiting."

_Waiting? What is he waiting for?_

Aichi furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he looked fearfully at his opponent, whose expression was unreadable with a strange glint in his eyes. Aichi flinched under the piercing glare and the widening smirk that grew visible in the darkness.

Aichi didn't want to know what Kai wanted to say right now. His expression was still robotic but there was something about it that caused Aichi to feel cold and hopeless. Aichi quickly shook his head; if Kai needed something, Aichi would do it for him, even if he was not the same person he knew. He needed to know what Kai wanted.

Between small sobs and avoiding eye-contact, Aichi finally breathed out. "W-what...?"

Kai raised his hand and pointed to his own chest, to the location of his heart. "Finish this fight quickly."

Aichi looked at Kai with wide eyes, who smirked in return. "Kill me."

Aichi shook his head repeatedly, feeling his body tremble violently as anger took control over his emotions. "NO!"

"I can't kill Kai-kun!" He yelled, a fit of coughing interrupting him. His face was getting paler and his body grew weaker, but he didn't give up. He could feel the pain prickle his skin and shoot up to his head, like daggers, but the person before him was more important.

The image of Cray disappeared, and in Aichi's hands a heavy silver blade glinted beneath the light. He brushed his fingers against the cold metal, tracing the carvings of the hilt which fitted perfectly in his grasp. His legs moved, with pain and unease, towards the person who was now no more than a blurry figure in Aichi's vision.

Kai didn't react as he heard Aichi's soft and slow footsteps coming towards him. He looked to his direction to see the boy dragging his body forcefully, stumbling as he walked. Kai simply watched him as his body collided with the hard ground, letting out a sheepish and weak smile overtake his pained expression.

He tried to lift himself up from the ground, coughing violently as he spoke slowly, breathing in and out. "If I could... I would have killed you, Kai...kun."

Kai witnessed as Aichi was able to push himself off the ground and stand up on his feet, struggling before regaining his balance. His features softened as he gave Kai a true genuine smile.

"But I can't..." His pained voice mismatched his kind and warm smile, and Aichi found himself standing in front of the person who he had admired for a long time. However, that person was gone a long time ago but to Aichi, Kai would always be Kai-kun no matter how emotionless and inhumane he grew.

"I'm sorry..."

Tears streamed down his cheeks as he buried his face in his friend's shirt and cried. "I'm sorry... Kai-kun."

Deep inside, he hoped he would be able to see the real Kai once again. He was hoping that Kai would come back to his senses somehow and stop hurting himself and him.

Kai's face stayed emotionless, like a marionette being manipulated with strings of metal chain. "You're an idiot."

It sounded toneless.

Aichi knew but he wanted to believe it was one of Kai-kun's ways of expressing himself when he was feeling annoyed, like he always did. Aichi nodded and buried his face deeper into Kai's shirt, not wanting to see that cold expression on Kai's face nor wanting to show him his endless tears.

Kai's hand moved. The sound of metal scratching the surface of the ground was heard as he moved over to pick the sword up, but Aichi remained still, not wanting to move.

Kai was lonely and consumed by his need for power, and if he needed someone to stay with him, he would stay, even if the whole world was against him, he would stay with him...

_By his side._

"Goodbye, Aichi."

* * *

**So, um, how was it? Good? Bad? Terrible?! I promise I'll try to explain things in the next chapter. You can consider this to be like a sequel to "A Fall From Grace" even though it isn't finished. A lot happened and I'm finally writing again! Thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 1: Parting and Reunion

_Re-birth_

_Chapter 1_

_Parting and Reunion_

The sky bled red as the sun crept over the horizon, the red flickering and spreading over his face. Reacting to the light, his blue eyes opened slowly, then closed and reopened them again until they adjusted to the light.

He pushed himself up, falling down as soon as his feet settled onto the ground. His head was spinning and was heavy. He could hear the sounds of traffic and engines, people talking in a roaring wave as the heat of the sun dug into his skin.

Flinching in pain, he stood up. It took him a few minutes to register the fact that he was standing on a roof, facing the city which he recognised being bathed in the morning sun. He blinked, realising that somehow, he had fallen asleep here, on this roof.

_No, that doesn't sound right..._

A gentle breeze blew, ruffling his hair. A small object landed next to his feet, causing Aichi to crouch down and pick it up by reflex. A slight smile showed on his face; at least he recognised what this was. Looking around, he noticed a few other cards, scattered across the rooftop.

_My cards..._

He bent down next to his cards, picking up each card slowly with care and tenderness. Confusion was written across his face, wondering how his cards ended up here in the first place. His hand hovered over his ace card, Blaster Blade Liberator, and he hesitated whether to pick it up or leave it in place. His fingers brushed against the surface of the card.

_**Aichi.**_

Aichi's head shot up, looking around the place in alarm, trying to find the source of the voice which sounded familiar, but he couldn't recognise.

_**Finish this fight quickly.**_

The voice came again, colder and toneless, echoing in his head, sending a shiver down his spine.

"W-who are you?" Aichi stuttered, starting to feel frightened and demented with worry. He grabbed his card in both hands, placing it with the rest of his deck and pocketing it.

_**Kill me.**_

Aichi's hand trembled and he bit his quivering lower lip. He didn't know why, but he felt like he had done something bad and unforgivable to someone precious. He drew up his legs closer to him and curled up into the position of a small, lost child.

He wanted to hide and disappear- feelings that were familiar.

The morning sunlight was replaced with the aura of the eerie moon, and behind him the wind blew through the trees, cracking each bone with a merciless force. Slow footsteps mixed in the background, echoing in his head. Aichi did not shift from his position as a cold hand was placed on his shoulder.

**_Look at me, Aichi._**

Aichi raised his head slowly, eyes widening in confusion and fear at the sight of the stranger crouching down to his level before him. His eyes were empty, but the smile deceived him.

"Who are you?"

The light-brown hair of the other was ruffled harshly by the wind and his green eyes gained life under the shine of the moon.

_**Kai Toshiki.**_

"K-Kai... Toshiki... " Aichi repeated the name, frowning as he was trying to remember and pronounce each letter correctly. A cold feeling welled up in his heart at the mention of the name, and he raised his eyes to meet the other pair of eyes.

A chuckle resounded through the place. It was empty and held no warmth or happiness in it. It reminded him of a robot. Aichi moved back a little, as fear replaced the confusion which was shown through his eyes.

**_You forgot me?_**

"U-um, do you know me?" He stuttered, standing up as the stranger before him did the same, and backed away slowly. A smirk from the other froze all blood in his veins, and was left unable to move.

**_Of course. You're the one I want to kill, after all._**

Aichi clutched his own head tightly, screaming as memories flooded his vision.

* * *

_The sound of a heavy metal was dragged along the ground. Aichi immediately recognised the sword, yet he didn't move or turn around. Aichi closed his eyes; Kai was really intending to kill him but he refused to believe so._

_He believed in his friend._

_"Goodbye, Aichi..."_

_And if he died, at least he would be able to end Kai's endless cycle of hatred and suffering._

_Aichi felt warm, and the blade, which was pierced in without hesitation remained there; capturing his heart and crushed it. Kai was serious about killing him._

_Yet, once again, he repeated the genuine words he would always tell him, no matter what happened. "I'm sorry, Kai-kun..."_

_Kai's eyes remained emotionless, reflecting nothing but void in those dull emerald eyes. To Aichi, he had been a hero and even though he wasn't the same person he used to be, he was still a hero to him._

_Aichi had failed to bring back the old Kai who disappeared a long time ago._

_Aichi lay still, feeling the warmth of the blood that soaked him soon disappear. His body shook with coldness and his eyelids started drooping. He couldn't work out the sound of the trees swishing through the air, or the way the faint moonlight had shined on his face._

_He felt a warm weight on his shoulders, a jacket, but he couldn't see anymore to confirm where this had come from._

_Quiet words were spoken, but were left unheard and soon, footsteps that started next to him became distant and faded away._

_The last thing he remembered was the way his throbbing pain had suddenly stopped and left his body, as he stood up and ran towards the person screaming in agony, who collapsed, body colliding heavily with the ground. A light, stronger than the moonlight, shined upon the two, and Aichi soon felt himself losing consciousness next to the friend who had once betrayed him..._

* * *

"Kai-kun!" Aichi realised he had been desperately shouting out the name of the person who was nowhere in sight. The other Kai he had met earlier before his memories returned had been a mere illusion of the person he wanted to make sure was safe.

He had no memory of what happened after he collapsed and the pained screams of his friend that he remembered pierced feelings of sadness and fear in his heart.

Aichi fell to his knees, all hope of finding Kai drained from his heart. Hot tears clouded his eyes and stained his cheeks. All he could do was to cry for the loss of his friend.

The sun was beating, pumping rays of heat through the sky. A small shadow appeared next to him, at the ground of the rooftop, scarcely blocking out the sunshine on his face.

Eyes filled with tears, Aichi turned around slowly to face the small figure, unable to recognise the person due to the tears and sunlight burning his eyes. He could tell, however, that it was a small child, no more than three or two years old but before he could wonder how such a little child came up to a rooftop alone, the child smiled.

With a soft and naive voice, the child spoke for the first time,

"Daddy...?"

* * *

**I sincerely apologise! I can't write card fighting scenes, so I decided to put a little bit of action instead (I don't know if it is considered to be action or not). I hope you don't mind! Oh, by the way, thank you for the reviews; they encouraged me to write more! **

**Yes, Kailthunder10, I know, Kai can be such a mean person in my story and thank you for being my "loyal fan" unlike Kai- that made me laugh! **  
**Thank you to Yuuki-san and StuffStuff (I like THAT picture of Leon ;D) for reviewing my story.**

**For this story, I prefer to put the disclaimer at the end, so here you go: **  
**I do not own Cardfight! Vanguard or any of the characters.**


	3. Chapter 2: Equidistant past and future

_Re-birth_

_Chapter 2_

_Equidistant past and future_

The little child stood smiling as he called his father. He had been frightened and confused when he woke up without his father by his side, so he had decided to look for him. In his memory, his father was strong and warm, with shining ocean blue eyes and hair. He was so happy to find him!

His smile faded as Aichi raised his head to face him with a pained expression on his face and tears running down his cheek, staining the ground. The child's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and worry. Why was his dad crying?

* * *

-  
Aichi squinted his eyes in the sunlight to see a small figure in front of him. Once his eyes got adjusted to the light, Aichi's eyes widened at the sight of a little child, no more than two or three years old. He immediately wondered what the child wanted. Aichi was sure he had misheard, but couldn't help but wonder, did this child call him his father?

His head fell down, facing the ground as soon as memories of Kai returned and he found the hot tears that welled up in his eyes start to pour down uncontrollably, releasing all locked up emotions inside him. The longer he sat there on his knees crying, the more sorrow and agony restrained his emotions, preventing him from the forgotten feeling of happiness. He just wished to be released from this torment and darkness.

A small hand touched his cheek, causing him to look up at a pair of frightened and concerned emerald eyes.

Aichi blinked. At a closer range, the child looked too familiar. Did he really not know this child?

His emerald eyes reminded him of-

'_No, that's just impossible_.' His inner voice concluded, shaking his head quickly to get rid of the ridiculous idea. He forced himself to look away from those big, innocent eyes blinking at him in confusion. Aichi realised that he had been stupid, even though the thought had just lasted for a split second. There was no possible way Kai would be the owner of such gentle and pure eyes.

Aichi was about to stand up when his direction was once again blocked with the sight of the child who now stood before him with a determined expression. If not given the current situation of Kai's disappearance still in his mind, Aichi would have chuckled at the determined expression on the small child's face and the way his hands were spread out. It looked almost like he was focusing on trying to stop someone from escaping with his small and fragile form.

"What's wrong?" Aichi asked softly, noticing a smile forming on the child's lips and his eyes lit up slightly with happiness. Aichi was taken aback at the sudden smile and felt dumbfounded. Was the child happy that Aichi had spoken to him?

He realised that he wanted to ask the question that had always been lingering in his mind since he first met the child. "Where did you come from?"

Aichi observed the child as confusion was reflected in his eyes, and was quickly replaced with fear and anxiousness. Reaching slowly, the child hesitated, and Aichi wondered what had caused him to do so, before grasping the hand of the blue-haired boy tightly.

That was when Aichi realised something, causing his brain to momentarily freeze. The clothes the child was wearing were similar to the ones Kai wore, and the shirt which resembled Kai's was too long and big on the child, reaching all the way down to his feet. The sleeves were tangled and formless, hanging down from the sides of the shirt.

The sunlight broke from a gap between the forming clouds, revealing the child's features and light brown hair.

_Emerald green eyes... light brown hair..._

At the realisation, Aichi let go of the child's hand, separating the hand which held shakily onto his own. Aichi backed away to take a safe distance from him.

Managing to muster up the courage to speak up, he asked with a shaking voice, "K-Kai-kun? Is that... you, Kai-kun?"

The child's lower lip quivered, and he bit it to try to force the tears in his eyes back. He felt confused and hurt when Aichi forced him to let go of his hand, almost violently. Did he do something bad? Did his daddy hate him now? His father was crying so he had only wanted to make him feel better...

Aichi approached him, shaking him gently yet firmly by the shoulders as tears kept streaming down his face. "Why are you in this form? What happened to you?"

His father was crying again. Was it because of him? Kai looked up doubtfully at his father, whose face displayed sadness and bewilderment; something he didn't understand.

"Daddy...?"

"This isn't funny, Kai-kun!"

The child's body tensed at the tone Aichi was using, causing him to shut his eyes closed, fearing Aichi's sudden outburst. He didn't understand anything of what was being said, yet Aichi kept on yelling and crying.

"If you understand what I am saying, please, stop it..." Aichi's voice was growing weaker and desperate. The innocent and curious expression on Kai's face told him all that he needed to know.

Kai was standing right here before him but the Kai from before was gone. He knew this because he understood Kai more than anyone else. Even if Kai wanted to play a trick on him, his eyes wouldn't appear so soft and free from hatred.

The person he had looked up to, his friend, had died, and before him he was reborn.

* * *

Kai couldn't fathom Aichi at all. The little child tilted his head slightly to the side, not understanding what was wrong with his father. He reached to grab his father's hand once more, but Aichi moved away.

"Daddy-"

"I'm not your father, Kai-kun..." He said solemnly, looking away from the child. Kai was his role model and his friend; he couldn't imagine himself being the 'father' of this child. He convinced himself that Kai was just confused like he had been when he first woke up; he would remember soon when his memories would return and they would both go back to normal, being friends or enemies like before. It didn't matter to him if Kai was in a child's form; he just wanted his friend back.

Although he knew the truth deep down, he kept denying the fact that the old Kai was gone.

"Please go home, Kai-kun." He said bitterly, turning to leave.

The little child gently clung to Aichi's shirt, his curious eyes were replaced with fear. He didn't want to be alone after he had finally found his father. His tiny fists grabbed the shirt with all the strength a child could have.

Aichi didn't look back and took a few steps forward, attempting to walk away.

"Daddy... don't go!"

Aichi looked down, absent-minded, to see the child hugging his leg with all his strength, shivering and crying, not wanting to let go of him.

He felt a pang of guilt hit his chest seeing the small child like this. Hesitantly, Aichi stopped and looked down at the child's frightened eyes, an emotion he had never seen on the older Kai before. Aichi felt confusion overwhelm him at the way this Kai showed emotions so clearly, giving him the air of a weak, defenseless child.

"I'm sorry, Kai-kun," he apologised softly, noticing the tears forming in the child's eyes. "I am not your father." He repeated and turned to walk away once more.

He didn't like the way he was able to read every emotion Kai showed. The Kai he knew wasn't like this.

His pace increased as he walked down the stairs of the rooftop, trying to ignore the cries from the child for him to come back. He found himself running as fast as he could, not caring where he was heading to.

_This is wrong! This child can't be Kai-kun!_

He pushed past the crowds of people on the streets, stuttering a quick apology.

_Kai-kun can't be gone forever!_

Cars passed by as soon as the color of the traffic lights hit green, but Aichi took no notice, shutting his eyes closed at the next thought.

_I'm not his father!_

Before he could cross the road, a hand caught his arm and pulled him back. "The traffic light is green! What are you thinking?"

"I'm sorry..." He apologised in a whisper without looking up and thanked the person before he continued running, taking another road.

* * *

He stopped before a house, his lips were slightly parted and he bent down, panting heavily. After regaining control of his breathing, he looked up to see that it was indeed his house, which he ran to by impulse.

He had no clue to why his instinct caused him to feel like getting as far away as possible from the child- no, _Kai_. He was scared of facing a person he no longer knew, and the courage Kai gave him a few years ago all disappeared after confirming that the child had no memories of the past. Still, Aichi continued to refuse to listen to the truth, believing that Kai would soon return to normal. It would be weird not just to him, but to Kai as well. What if, after regaining his memories, Kai would find out that he had thought of Aichi as his father? What would his reaction be?

The whole event was completely ridiculous and it felt like a dream.

He reached for the doorbell, waiting for a response. Soon, the doorknob twisted and the front door opened, revealing the worried face of his mother.

"Where have you been, Aichi?" She asked slowly and carefully. Aichi noticed the way her eyes were red and swollen, a sign telling him that she had been crying. He lowered his head in guilt, feeling responsible.

"At a friend's house. I'm sorry for not calling, as the line was disconnected at their house. I'm sorry, mum." He faked a smile and lied easily, not expecting his mother to believe such an obvious lie.

However, she believed in him because he was her son. "It's okay but don't do something like that again!" She pulled her son closer to her and hugged him. Aichi was surprised at first, but smiled warmly and returned the embrace, resting his head on her shoulder.

He hated lying to precious people to him.

He realised that he couldn't lie to Kai and tell him that he was his real father just to make him feel happy.

Kai wouldn't like that when he found out the truth.

He felt like he had done the right thing.

* * *

**Um... can I ask you guys a question? Doesn't the layout of the story bother you a little bit? I feel like the paragraphs are too close to each other or is it just me? Any other tips or ideas are appreciated as well!**

**StuffStuff****- Thank you for reading my story and l'm glad you like it! And, yes, I find little Kai adorable too!**

**Monolaymoo- (got that right?) Thank you for your review and oh, I think I'll explain what EXACTLY happened to Kai later on in the story.  
**

**Yuuki- I won't let you steal little Kai from me! ;P I'm sorry if this chapter was too depressing; I will try to make it up for you all in the next chapter!**

**Ummm... Guest 1 and Guest 2, I guess...? Haha, please use names 'cause I'm so confused! Anyways, thank you both for your reviews! I'm not sure I understand what you mean by Kourin or Misaki being Kai's 'mother' but if you mean romance, I'm focusing on a father-son relationship between Aichi and Kai! If it's otherwise then yes. BUT I will surely include more characters and different relationships, so please tell me if you want to see any characters included in this story. I will try my best!**

**Kailthunder10-**** My lovely loyal fan ;P Like I said, I'll explain what happened to Kai later on. Thanks for your review and loyalty!**

**ReTenmaVerse-**** (does your user name mean something like "Reverse Tenma"?) I always love new readers! Thank you for taking the time to review! And I'd love to read some of your stories in the future :D (if I'm not too lazy ;p)**

**And finally... April Hawkeye, TsukihanaYUE and Koayyy- again, thanks for following and favoriting (if such a word ever exists) my story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own CFV. If I did, that would be awesome!**


	4. Chapter 3: Rain and Loneliness

_Re-Birth_

_Chapter 3_

_Rain and Loneliness_

Aichi couldn't sleep at all that day.

Lying on his bed, he could see the thick clouds starting to form, weakening the glow of the full moon which reminded him of the night when he had fought Kai.

Aichi wanted to look through his deck to calm him down, but it would also remind him of Kai, and whenever he thought of Kai, he would be reminded of the little child.

Why did he have to run away like that?

Aichi honestly didn't mean to frighten him; he just followed his instincts at that time to run away as far as he could. Maybe he still hasn't gotten rid of his fear of Kai because of the events of their final battle.

Kai had clearly betrayed him and wanted to _kill_ him.

Aichi had repeatedly tried to convince himself that this was the only reason, but his mind couldn't help but wander to the other reason, which he wanted to bury deep inside and never think of.

He was scared of the new Kai and that was why he had run away.

He didn't know how to act around _this_ Kai who seemed so pure and naive.

Aichi rolled to the other side of the bed and threw the blankets over his head. He didn't want to think about this anymore.

* * *

The little child shivered as a strong wind hit his back. He brought both hands closer to warm them up.

Kai stood in the same place where Aichi had left him hours ago at the rooftop, not moving. He had waited so long for Aichi to come back, but his daddy was no where in sight.

His cheeks reddened with the hot tears rolling down over his tightly pursed lips, replacing the previous dried tears in the cold.

He was alone and scared. He wanted to be comforted in his father's arms but his father didn't want him anymore.

The small child sniffed and wiped his tears with his tiny, freezing hands. "Daddy..."

A drop.

The child's eyes closed as his skin came into contact with a cold liquid. Hesitantly, he opened his teary eyes wide to see water drop from the sky. Kai watched in awe and bewilderment as the rain touched his skin, digging into it and causing it to burn of coldness.

He flinched slightly, but the glint of curiousness in his eyes still remained. Since he had no memories, it was his first time witnessing rain.

His hands reached out for the rain to touch his palms, feeling the heat of his hand drain away as rain rolled across his palms and dropped down from the end of his clumsily extended fingers.

"W-Wow..." the child breathed out, fascinated. To him, the rain looked something warm and sweet, almost like pieces of candy dropping from the sky.

At first, drops had landed softly, but as time passed, the rain escalated into something more violent. The rain pounded down, each drop a small stone, piercing cold and and drenching him completely within seconds. Kai backed away, sensing danger from the way the rain was hitting his small body and he wanted to run, but there was nowhere to hide. Wherever the sky stretched out, rain accompanied it.

The child's small body was trembling and he was alone. Exhausted, he sat down on the wet ground, dragging his feet closer to him.

Kai curled up into the position of a small ball, burying his face to shield himself from the cold. The little boy's determination and hope was unfaltering; he would wait for his father no matter how long it took because he didn't have anywhere else to go.

At the thought of his father's warm smile, tears ran down his cheeks, mixing with the rain and dripped down, leaving a small stain on his clothes. His shaky voice was left unheard under the howling of the wind.

"Daddy..."

* * *

With an umbrella in hand, Aichi walked under the rain, the wind tugging at his coat and hair. He couldn't sleep because worry and guilt swept through him; he wanted to make sure Kai was safe.

**_I'm sorry, Kai-kun. _**

**_I'm not your father._**

Aichi bit his lower lip. He regretted the things he had told the child but he still was afraid of losing his friend. What if the Kai he knew would disappear forever after he had tried so hard to bring him back?

Before he realised, Aichi found himself standing in front of Kai's apartment.

How would a little child be able to enter an apartment alone? Kai didn't seem to even have memories of his past, so how would he be able to find his own home?

At these thoughts piercing his heart with guilt, Aichi's grip loosened around the umbrella he was holding. He let it drop to the ground, and it was carried away by the strong wind. His face was left exposed to the heavy rain, feeling the tears that were forming in his eyes start to mix with the rain as they left his cheeks.

_Am I really this stupid?_

Many thoughts started to build up in his mind, causing him to think of many different possibilities of what might have happened, thoughts which he quickly tried to avert. A conversation which he had with his mother not long ago occupied his mind. The words echoed clearly in his head, taunting him by reminding him of his mistakes and draining the little strength he had left.

_"Mom."_

_"Hm? What's wrong, Aichi?"_

_"How would someone... a child feel when their parents abandon them?"_

_Shizuka put down the dishes and walked over to her son. She didn't question the reason for the sudden change in topic. Instead, she faced her son and looked directly at him in the eyes."How would you feel, Aichi?"_

_"M-Me?"_

_"Yes."  
_  
Aichi turned away from the apartment and ran in the empty streets, the rain soaking him completely in a few minutes.

He was too focused on finding Kai to be able to blink the rain away from his eyes. In his vision, the street lights were distant and blurred and the muffled roar of vehicles could be faintly heard in the distance. His head felt like it was spinning, and his body moved of its own accord.

He stopped in front of a couple who were about to get inside their car, catching his breath, before asking if they had seen a child. The couple shook their heads, a little surprised by Aichi's outburst. Before they had time to say anything else, Aichi had disappeared and turned around another corner in the street.

He had spend his life chasing after Kai.

Kai had been strong; a role model to him. Aichi had wanted to become like him, so he trained to become a stronger opponent to him, gaining courage and friends along the way. However, their paths never seemed to intersect.

Just when Aichi had stopped chasing after him, he found himself in the same place as where he had started.

He stopped to catch his breath, falling on his knees hopelessly in the middle of the rain. People watched as they passed by, but Aichi didn't care.

He had searched the whole area but there were no traces of the little child.

Even though he was still breathing, he felt a constriction in his chest, like his lungs were contracting and all oxygen was squashed out of them.

_"I would probably feel betrayed, hated and cold..." Aichi answered his mother's question. His eyes softened as he was mentioning each word._

Tears welled up in his eyes and he hit the ground in frustration with his bare fists. It was his responsibility if something was to happen to Kai, and most importantly, he would never be able to forgive himself again for hurting such a vulnerable child.

_Shizuka smiled sadly at her son's answer. "Yes, that's probably what a child would feel like."  
_  
_"I feel horrible..." Aichi whispered, realisation showing on his face, which was soon replaced with regret and pain._

_What happened to the child? Was he lost? Was he alright?_

_He had to find Kai._

His expression changing into a determined gaze, Aichi raised his head slowly, wiping his tears away.

There was one more place which he didn't check.

The rooftop.

* * *

The stairs seemed to extend a thousand more meters the more he climbed up. His muscles pleaded to rest, but he couldn't stop.

He realised that he had done something terrible and wanted to fix it.

He wanted to make sure he didn't hurt the person he used to care about the most.

He reached the rooftop, almost stumbling, his eyes scanning the area in panic, immediately searching to find Kai.

There, at the corner of the roof, he spotted a mix of brown and white. The child was barefooted with an overly large white shirt completely drenched in rain. Beside him lay a jacket, a pair of black trousers and a pair of boots that would never be worn again.

Aichi found it harder to speak with the guilt piercing his chest. He was trembling in the cold and could only hope that Kai's little body wasn't frozen in this weather.

"It's bad for you to stand in this weather..." That was all he was able to say from the many things he wanted to apologise for.

The curled up child in front of him neither moved or made a sound.

Panic seeped through his blood, freezing him momentarily. Quickly breaking through his daze, Aichi ran up to him. "Kai-kun?"

As Aichi approached him, he could see how the child's chest was rising and falling in a rhythmic and subtle movement and the end of his hair was dripping with rain, slowly landing on his cheek and rolling down, replacing the last tears that was shed before he fell asleep. His face displayed child-like innocence and naivety, contrasting the darkness of the sky.

Relief flooded his veins when he realised that Kai was only sleeping, causing the frozen blood to move around his body once more.

Aichi brushed away the brown bangs on the child's head and wrapped his own coat around him to warm him up. He noticed Kai's deck on the ground next to him and picked it up, shoving it in his pocket.

"Were you..." Aichi paused, finding himself unable to continue. He knew that Kai was sleeping, and couldn't hear him. Nonetheless, he forced himself to speak, before he lost the courage to do so. "Were you waiting for me to come?"

The child's emerald eyes opened, confusion and fear filling them as he observed his surroundings. He closed them quickly to keep the rain from burning his eyes.

"I'm sorry... it's my fault for being such a coward. I just couldn't stand the thought of losing a close friend to me, and I believed that he would return, because Kai that's why I left you alone... but you are not _him_. I'm sorry." He hugged the child's shivering body closer to him, tears burning his skin.

The child listened to the muffled voice of his father speaking and he immediately felt safe, even though he didn't understand what he was saying. He had been terrified of the darkness and of being alone in the rain. He leaned closer to his father as Aichi picked him up and hugged him, stuttering apologies non-stop. Kai was really happy knowing that his father didn't abandon him or hate him, but it hurt to see Aichi crying.

Both stood in the middle of the rain, feeling how it poured down over their heads. The rain would weep and it would eventually heal.

For a moment, they had been the rain.

* * *

Aichi lent Kai his old blue shirt and a pair of trousers which his mother used to keep since he was little. He left Kai alone in his room once he decided to take a shower.

Curious, the little child looked around the room, hoping to find something that would interest him.

Noticing Aichi's desk, he struggled before he climbed up on the chair, and his eyes caught the most colorful object closest to him. It was Kai's deck.

Kai picked up a card and turned it around carefully, feeling like he was used to doing this. Even though he was now warm again, he felt very cold inside. It was a feeling new to him- a feeling worse than what he had felt when he thought his father had abandoned him, although he didn't understand it.

He put the card back on top of the rest of the deck slowly, and climbed back down from the chair, moving away as far as possible from the weird object in front of him.

Suddenly, lightning flashed in brief sparkling bursts, illuminating the surrounding clouds with an ominous glow, gaining the toddler's attention.

* * *

Aichi was watching the child shrink behind the desk as he entered the room and chuckled. "You're scared of thunder, Kai-kun?"

He was surprised at first; was Kai scared of thunder? However, he started to gradually accept the fact that this Kai was different from the other Kai and, who knows, maybe the Kai he knew was also scared of thunder?

The child peeked from between the hands covering his face in an attempt to hide from the horrifying sound.

"Daddy!" The child exclaimed, running to hide behind his legs. "T-Tunder!"

Aichi had found it quite odd how Kai wasn't scared of the lightning, but just the sound.

"Oh, you mean 'thunder', right?" Aichi corrected and the child nodded, lowering his head. "I don't like it either... " Aichi said, trying to convince Kai to somehow get rid of his fears of the thunder, but it didn't seem to work. Aichi patted his head and smiled at him in an attempt to ease the child's fear. "But it's not very scary, I promise."

Kai nodded quietly and the grip on Aichi's sleeve loosened slightly.

Aichi sighed in relief, believing that they would be able to sleep now. He was so tired and wondered if he had woken up his mother or sister.

_Probably..._

A light from the window gained both of their attention, followed by the roaring sound of thunder filling the silence. The toddler immediately yelped, and hid underneath the bed.

Aichi bent down to the ground to face Kai's widened eyes. "Come here, Kai-kun, don't be scared."

Kai shook his head and closed his ears with his tiny hands, the bed directly above his head. He didn't want to come out and hear the scary sound of thunder all over the place.

This, Aichi realised, was going to be the longest night so far unless he could somehow make Kai get rid of his unexpected fear of thunder,

Or somehow make the thunder stop.

* * *

**Italics like **_this_** is used when thinking or flashbacks.  
**  
**Thanks for answering my question and for the reviews, guys! I enjoyed reading them and seeing what reactions you had to the last chapter. I agree with all of you who said that Aichi was kinda cruel, but think about it, how would ****_you_**** react if something like this happened? Anyway, I hope this one was less depressing (or was it more depressing? O_O)**

**And did you notice that whenever a paragraph/scene is about child Kai, I always use more simple language? I like doing that!**

**So, what do you think of this chapter? I made it too long, didn't I? Well, it's 'cause I love you all! ;P**

**Disclaimer****: It's cruel how many times I have to be reminded of reality... but I don't own CFV! **


	5. Chapter 4: A new start

_Re-birth  
_  
_Chapter 4_

_A new start_

_Kai was holding Aichi's hand as they walked in a place much similar to Cray. There were colourful flowers everywhere on the ground with a beautiful and clear blue sky._

_A few figures could be seen in the distance next to a big lake which glistened under the sunlight. Aichi beamed at the sight of them, but Kai was confused._

_"They are our friends," He heard Aichi say in such a happy tone which he was not used to. It left him very empty and lonely. "Let's go, Kai-kun."_

_He felt his father's warm and big hand drag him gently towards the group of smiling friends. He shut his eyes closed and began to feel nervous. What if they didn't like him? Would he disappoint his father?_

_Together, they reached their friends and Aichi let go of his hand to hug his friends. The empty and sad feeling immediately came back and pierced his heart. Kai was pleased to see Aichi so cheerful and happy with everyone, though Kai wasn't smiling._

_He couldn't smile._

_He placed his hands in his pockets and put on a mask to hide his feelings and instead displayed an expression of boredom and indifference._

_Wait, why were his hands in his pockets? Why did he feel... so cold? And why was he suddenly tall?_

_Kai started to become scared as he could see Aichi and his friends talking, but couldn't hear any sound come out of his own mouth. He wanted to join them, but only his mouth moved and formed the shape of words which were left unheard. Kai glanced at Aichi's happy face as he spoke to his friends. He started feeling empty again and forced himself to look down. Kai wanted to grab Aichi's hand and make him notice that he was here but something inside him stopped him. He felt as if he didn't deserve their attention, or deserve to be with them and laugh alongside them._

_He was weak..._

_He needed power..._

_Even if he would be alone forever._

_Then, the light faded from his world._

* * *

_Kai woke up and looked around. Before him, there was a person who looked like him, but he was taller and when he spoke, there was something odd and scary about him. "Do you know who I am?"_

_His voice was calm and comforting but his lifeless eyes held a malicious intent in them._

_Frightened, the little child stumbled back and started to run._

_An empty laugh resounded in the air. "I'll come and kill Aichi again. Sounds good, doesn't it?"_

_The child shook his head and covered his ears, not wanting to hear any more even though he didn't understand any of it. He just knew that this person was dangerous and wanted to hurt someone._

_So he kept running._

_The walls and floor were all black and they seemed to extend further, giving the child no chance to escape. The place had no dimension._

_Behind him, he could hear the person's quiet voice echo through the walls, like a whisper._

_"Until then, keep on dreaming."_

* * *

Kai slowly open his eyes and saw the first glimpses of the morning sun trickle between the two curtains on the window. He could hear the chirping sound of birds and the breeze blow through trees. A happy scene, but he felt like it was out of his reach; it was something he didn't understand and could only watch as it unfold before him.

His cheeks were wet with tears and he started to whimper under the sheets.

"Are you okay, Kai-kun?" Aichi's concerned voice came from the door. He walked over to the child hiding under the blankets and moved them aside. "Did you have a bad dream?"

"Daddy..." Kai called out to him painfully as he rubbed his eyes with his fists.

It broke Aichi's heart to see him like this. Regret immediately built up in his chest; was Kai scared because of the way he had left him alone yesterday at the roof?

Aichi smiled softly and patted the child's head until his cries gradually turned into small sobs. The child flinched back as Aichi's fingers wiped away the tears. He knew he had to somehow calm the child down, so he carried Kai to the window. "Look, the sun is so bright today, right Kai-kun?"

Kai turned to look at his father, unsure, but Aichi's smile helped to ease his fear. Kai squinted his eyes in the sunlight as he looked out of the window.

Everything outside seemed to come closer and nothing felt so distant anymore.

He smiled, feeling a little safer when his father was with him. He felt Aichi put him back on the ground and listened silently as he spoke.

"Kai-kun, do you want to meet my family? They are really nice, I'm sure they will like you!" Aichi said enthusiastically, turning to look at the child who merely stood still and blinked at him in confusion. Aichi chuckled and placed a hand on top of Kai's head.

He had explained the situation to his mother that he somehow befriended a small, orphan and lost child who saw him as his father. He couldn't tell her the whole truth because even though she would believe him, it would be too complicated to explain. His mother, being the type of person she is, told him so excitedly that he would let her meet the child the first second he woke up.

"My, Kai, you're so adorable!"

So both little Kai and Aichi stood in the hallway as Shizuka told her son that she would accept Kai as a family member if he didn't have anywhere to go.

* * *

Aichi, having nothing to do, recalled last night's events as he sat on his bed and waited for Kai to finish washing his hands to go down for breakfast. He sighed wearily from the lack of sleep. Last night, Kai had been in an absolute state of refusal to come out from under the bed. At first, Aichi had found it adorable that Kai was scared from the sound of thunder, but then it had turned into something much more chaotic; Aichi had tried to repeatedly convince Kai to somehow get out, but Kai responded by moving back further. Aichi had even tried to pull the child out as gently as possible.

Kai scratched like a kitten.

However, by midnight, the thunder still did not stop and Kai kept hidden under the bed. Aichi did not want to let the child fall asleep on the cold floor when he could sleep on the comfortable bed and Aichi, being the kind of person who cared for every single human being on Earth, did not help the situation either. Aichi had even crawled next to the child's side to comfort him, but Kai was too stubborn and frightened to listen to him.

In the end, both ended up sleeping on the cold floor under the bed.

Aichi moaned; his head hurt and he could feel a headache coming. That was why he had desperately tried to convince Kai to use the warm bed instead of the cold floor.

He got up of the bed to check on Kai who had taken too long to just wash his hands. When he opened the bathroom door, he faced an open tap and little Kai, who was frozen in his spot, not moving an inch. At that, Aichi grew worried and approached the child whose eyes never left the direction he was looking in.

"Scawy." The toddler mumbled, reaching to hug Aichi's leg and hid behind him, since he was too small to be able to reach his waist to hug his father.

"What is scary?" Aichi asked slowly, placing a comforting hand on Kai's soft hair.

Kai pointed at the sink. Aichi followed the direction of his finger until his eyes fell in the same direction Kai was pointing at. "The water?"

"Water?"

This time Aichi repeated his words more slowly for the child to understand. "Yes. The water scared you?"

Instead of answering Aichi's question, Kai flinched, startling Aichi. "Ah, it moved!" The toddler cried, burying his face in his hands. Aichi stared at Kai and then back at the bathroom's sink tap. What was so scary about water moving down a tap?

Aichi moved to the sink, sticking his hand into the water to show the child how harmless it was. It seemed that because Kai lost all of his memories, he ended up being scared of the simplest objects which he did not recognise.

_I hope you remember soon, Kai-kun..._

"Look, Kai-kun, it's just water."

Kai tugged at Aichi's sleeve, trying to make him move away. "No!" He paused, trying to find the right pronunciation, his eyebrows knitting together in concentration. "Sli.. spy... um, der?"

"What?" Aichi asked the child, who repeated his words. His face quickly lit up in realisation. "Oh, a spider!"

"Yup, splindel!" The child answered with equal enthusiasm, totally getting the pronunciation wrong. Aichi couldn't help but to smile at that.

"Don't worry-" He turned back to the sink to come face-to-face with the biggest spider he'd ever witnessed seeing close-up. Aichi stumbled backward, resisting the urge to scream as it would scare his mother, Emi and the already frightened child. Instead, he went with the best and bravest method to respond to this situation: pick Kai up, run out and close the bathroom door shut to never be used ever again.

"That surprised me..." Aichi exhaled, reaching to feel his heartbeat to calm him down.

Kai looked at Aichi and mimicked the relieved gesture he was making.

* * *

There was an uneasy atmosphere as the new family sat around the table to eat breakfast.

Emi didn't take the situation as welcoming as their mother. She knew who Kai was and didn't want her brother to be hurt again by the same person.

That was the reaction Aichi feared and decided not to tell his friends about Kai, even if it would mean that he would have to lie to them. He now saw this Kai as a completely new person; not the person who once betrayed him and wanted to kill him, but the person who loved him as his father.

Kai was still his friend, so he didn't want to hurt him.

"Here," Shizuka said as she placed bowls of porridge for the three of them and one for her as she took a seat. "This is a new family rule: For breakfast, we all have to eat what Kai eats!"

"What?" Aichi seemed horrified by the idea. "I don't like porridge as much!"

Shizuka smiled at her son and turned to look at Kai. "Is it good?"

The toddler's eyes widened as he placed his spoon clumsily in his mouth. "Good!" He praised, excitement showing through his eyes as his tongue explored the new, unfamiliar taste. He ate another spoon and smiled contently.

Shizuka chuckled, satisfied with the child's response. "See? Now that Kai likes it, you don't have any complains."

Before Aichi could say anything else, Emi pushed her chair back and stood up, gaining their attention. "I'm going to school. Bye, Aichi, mom."

She grabbed her bag and headed out without another word, closing the door behind her.

Silence fell in the kitchen and the mood changed instantly. Aichi lowered his gaze and stared at his clenched fists resting on his knees under the table.

Kai stopped eating, his face a slight mess. He looked at his father, then at Aichi's mother and his eyes turned back to his father, eyebrows furrowing slightly. He could sense that his father was a bit... different and that scared him.

Aichi stood up, his breakfast lying on the table still untouched. He glanced at his mother, who nodded in understanding. Quickly, Kai grabbed Aichi's sleeve to prevent him from leaving, fear evident in his widened eyes. Aichi took Kai's hands in his own, smiling softly at the child as he reached for a tissue to wipe the food around his mouth.

"Kai-kun... I'll be back in a second."

* * *

As soon as Aichi reached outside, a warm breeze hit his skin, and the powerful rays of sunlight blinded him. He never realised how much of a beautiful day it was today until now. Squinting into the sun, Aichi spotted his sister.

"Emi! Wait!"

She stood still for a moment before she turned to face him with a cheerful smile. "You know that school is starting in ten minutes, Aichi?"

"I know... I'm not going to school today..."

"Oh, so you're skipping school? Then, what's wrong?" It was clear that she was faking her smile. The little sister Aichi knew would have scolded him more than his mother for 'skipping school'.

Aichi took a deep breath, not knowing where to start. "It's about Kai-kun..."

"There's nothing to talk about him," She referred to him with such distress and rage, expression showing disgust. "He was the one who hurt you the most."

"You're right, but, the person who helped me the most is Kai-kun!"

"It would have been better for you to stay as you were without Kai in your life rather than get hurt by him like this!" She realised how Aichi's eyes widened in hurt, seeming terrified with what Emi had said. She didn't want to see her brother make that painful expression, but if it was to make him understand that Kai would hurt him again, cruel things that even she didn't want to say had to be spoken. She knew how much Kai meant to Aichi.

Aichi recovered quickly from his shock, his expression turning into a more determined one. "It was my fault."

"No, it was _his_ fault. Because of him, you..." She stopped, not knowing if she should speak what she really wanted to say. She shook her head and glared at her brother. "I hate him! He shouldn't have the right to be next to you!"

Aichi extended out his hands, as if defending the presence of his invisible friend behind him. "It was my fault too!"

Emi was slightly taken aback by Aichi's outburst. Aichi took Emi's silence as a sign to continue what he had to say. "Kai-kun is still my precious friend and it's my responsibility to correct and forgive him no matter what he does." His eyes lost the different bright shades of blue in them, and his voice grew softer and lower; all pain and helplessness was conveyed in it. "Besides, this Kai-kun is different... this isn't Kai-kun... "

Aichi had to bite his lips and turn away from his little sister, "He's gone... Kai-kun is..."

There was a silence as Aichi's words sunk in. "Why do you try to take care of him then?" She knew how important Kai had been to Aichi through the way Aichi had spoken about him with such a happy smile on his face. Emi had respected and admired Kai too, for he had seemed like a great person and she was relieved that Kai would always be there for her brother.

However, since that day, everything had changed. She remembered how Aichi had ordered his friends to stay away, including her as he went to fight the last person he wished to fight. His voice had been shaking, yet the hurt in his eyes had been coated with resolve. Ever since that day, Emi had detested Kai for making them all wait so desperately for Aichi's return, and for the pain of not knowing what would happen to the both of them. Most of all, she hated Kai for betraying them all and hurting her precious brother.

"I... I don't know." He had been hoping that Kai would regain his memories and they would return back to being friends, rivals, or even enemies. However, currently, Kai was just another vulnerable child who would easily be exposed to danger if he was left alone. He didn't want Kai to get hurt in any possible way; he had hurt him enough himself.

"Aichi..." Emi called out her brother's name in concern. She had never seen or heard Aichi sound so lost and confused, and that made her worry.

Aichi sighed and faced his sister, his voice firm and eyes carrying courage. "Please give him a chance, Emi."

Her eyes widened at Aichi's determined gaze. She never realised how confident and strong Aichi had grown.

"I'm late." With those simple words, Emi ended the conversation and turned to continue her journey to school. A smile grazed her lips; if Aichi was so determined to forgive Kai, then she might try to forgive him too, for her brother's sake.

She only hoped she was making the right choice.

* * *

Aichi spent the rest of the afternoon with Kai, trying to understand the child better. He had skipped school as an excuse that Kai wouldn't stop crying until he came with him, and his mother had allowed him to do so just for today as an exception. It was all true but the real reason why he had skipped school was because he didn't know how to face his friends. Aichi knew he was just running away, but he didn't have any other choice; he would have to come up with a fake story as to what happened during their fight. Aichi realised he couldn't just tell them that Kai was now living with him in the form of a three-years-old child; he was scared that they would never forgive _Kai_ and they would therefore blame this Kai. He didn't want the child to grow up knowing that he was hated; the feeling was horrible and Kai had already suffered enough. Aichi wanted to shield this little child from all the hatred and pain he had carried before.

"Then, do you know what this is, Kai-kun?"

The child beside him studied the picture for a moment. "Birdie!" He exclaimed, pointing at the picture then looking at his father to see whether he had gotten it right or wrong.

"Yes, that's right," Aichi said, closing the picture book after reaching the final page. "Wow, Kai-kun, you learn fast!" Aichi praised, ruffling the child's hair. Considering that Kai was still a child, it was amazing how he tried to remember things on his own. Kai was too independent for a child- the first trait which reminded him of Kai Toshiki. Surprisingly, Aichi didn't feel too happy about this; he didn't want Kai to become too independent and do things on his own without learning how to ask for help from others.

"Daddy!" Kai's excited voice brought him back to a planet known as Earth. He blinked at Kai, who showed Aichi a new book.

"Hm? What's wrong, Kai-kun?"

Kai smiled at his father and sat down next to him on the couch. "Daddy! Read story!"

"Aichi!"

Both Kai and Aichi looked at the person who stood at the door of the living room. It was silent for a while, before Aichi realised something. "Emi, you didn't go to school?"

Emi looked down. "Well, um, I went to Card Capital..." She blushed a little and asked hesitantly. "Um... can I read Kai a story?"

"Emi... " When Emi gave him a small nod, Aichi smiled genuinely. "Sure. Then let's read together with Emi, okay, Kai-kun?"

The addressed child looked at Aichi and then at Emi. He nodded quietly, moving next to Aichi to give Emi more space to sit down. Aichi was truly amused by this, but didn't say anything as Emi sat down and hesitantly patted Kai softly on his head as a way of thanking him. They still had a long way to go before their uneasiness would fade but Aichi was very thankful that Emi was trying.

A few hours of the three of them playing, telling stories and laughing, Kai and Emi were already on good terms that Aichi was almost feeling left out. It was surprising how fast this change came about; Aichi had even been expecting that it would take at least one month or more to get used to having a new person in their family, but there they were, sitting and laughing like a real family, as if they had known each other for years. He could tell that Emi had been surprised at how sincerely Kai was smiling, much like the way Aichi himself had been; Kai never smiled before like that.

They had a good time together, not noticing their mother frequently showing up at the door to check up on them. Unknown to them, she smiled, seeing her children having so much fun in a while. Even she was fond of the little child, so it didn't surprise her how much Emi's attitude toward the child changed since they first met.

After a few more hours of trying to make Kai learn more words, Aichi suddenly jumped off the couch, startling both of them. "I forgot to do my homework!"

Emi sighed at her brother's forgetfulness but Kai was more curious. "Home...work?" The child asked, tilting his head slightly. "Eat?"

"No, you don't eat homework." He eyed Kai suspiciously, who was too caught up in trying to get the piece of paper on the table. Unfortunately for Kai, Aichi saw this and hurried to grab the paper before the child could and hid it behind his back. Aichi narrowed his eyes at the child. "And don't you dare eat it."

Kai giggled and Aichi and Emi just had to smile at the cute sight until they too joined in the laughter.

During the whole evening, Aichi had been surprised at how obedient Kai actually was. He played with a few toys silently on the rug in front of him as Aichi finished the rest of his homework. Emi had suggested that they should have something sweet to eat and decided to get something from the kitchen. Aichi had been expecting Kai to make more noise and maybe even cry for being left alone, but the child was perfectly calm and quiet- yet a second similarity Aichi noticed between this Kai and the other Kai. He wondered if the child would grow up to have the same personality as Kai Toshiki if his memories never returned. The thought saddened him, but he tried pushing it aside for now.

Aichi put his pen down after finishing the last question on the sheet and went over to the playing child. Kai greeted him with a hug which didn't last as long, for he grabbed Aichi's hand and led him to the area filled with toys and picture books.

"Daddy?" The child's eyes were hopeful as he handed Aichi a car toy. "Play?"

A smile grazed Aichi's lips. "Sure."

* * *

The tray of cakes and tea almost dropped from Emi's hands. She gasped at the mess in the living room; many books and toys were scattered across the floor, the two sofas had somehow changed positions to face the window and pictures on the wall were crooked. She had just left the living room for fifteen minutes and this is what happens? Emi looked down to her feet when she stepped over a sheet of paper, likely to be Aichi's homework.

Emi sighed; what an irresponsible brother she had.

She was not used to see the living room this... upside down, and most importantly, the culprits were nowhere to be seen. Emi sighed again; this was going to take a long time to clean up. Her eyes moved towards the two figures on the sofa. She walked over to them quietly, as not to disturb them.

The next sight she saw brought an unintended smile to her lips; Aichi was sleeping sitting up- an uncomfortable position but with the most peaceful expression she had seen on her brother's face after all those endless nightmares he had. A small picture book rested on his lap, open to the first page. Kai slept soundly too, head resting on Aichi's lap as well. Emi chuckled, realising that they had both fallen asleep before even reading the first page. She pulled a blanked over them and decided against waking them up. The cleaning could wait.

Emi closed the door of the living room, careful not to make any sound, and sighed sadly, leaning against the door with a doleful smile.

_Please don't hurt Aichi again..._

* * *

**Let's do this for fun: what was your favourite quote/scene for this chapter? (If you have any)**

**Sorry! I was supposed to update last week so please don't kill me! I hope this chapter was good enough. Guess what? ... I'll spare you all today from the long, dreaded author's note! (Because I wanna go watch Legion Mate) **

**Disclaimer****: Both of us know I'll never own CFV...**


	6. Chapter 5: Keeping a Secret

_Re-birth_

_Chapter 5_

_Keeping a secret_

_There was a sound of dripping water on a solid, flat surface. The walls were coated in black, and the air was thick, as if it was burning and suffocating the silence with its smoke. A sound of jingling bells resounded through the outstretched place without dimension; it was soft and faintly audible- a lullaby to one's ears- but they produced the sound of artificial metal; the sound of a warning filled with poison and rage yet with the most graceful movement. The echoing sound died down to a low volume, but it was still there, still hunting and searching blindly for something that had been lost far away in the darkness a long time ago._

_"Wake up." _

_Then the sound of moving bells came to a stop._

_"It's time to wake up."_

_The drops of water continued to collide with the ground with a penetrating scream that echoed through the thick coat of air._

_"You can't run away._

_Wake up._

_There's nothing that will hide you from me forever."_

* * *

In the past few weeks, Aichi noticed that Kai was becoming happier; he smiled more and was easily able to meet new people without cowering and hiding behind him, like he usually did when he was feeling too , like their neighbors who watched them play in the back garden of their house every morning were clearly amused and warmed by their bond. When Aichi told Kai to greet their neighbors, they became fond of him very easily and commented that Kai had taken this special charm of being easily liked from his father. Aichi had blushed in embarrassment but he couldn't deny the fact that Kai was _his_ child; how would he explain the reason why Kai would call him his "daddy"? Therefore, Aichi had smiled back and thanked them with Kai watching his father's moves with curiosity. He remembered shaking his head, feeling so weird that he was starting to gradually accept and get used to this situation. Kai had also left him vulnerable in various ways; the child was currently his biggest weakness. Whatever Kai wished to have, he would immediately give it to him. Who could resist seeing those innocent green eyes being clouded with sadness?  
Even his mother went as far to tell him not to spoil the child too much, or he wouldn't depend on himself anymore.

That worried him. He didn't know what to teach and not to teach the child; when to praise or scold him, or when to give in or refuse.

When he told Emi about it, she just shrugged and told him that he was over thinking. She was right; He was getting used to this.

_Too_ used to this.

It should feel weird and uncomfortable to sit and teach the child who was supposed to be your best friend simple words that any other eighteen-years-old should know, or to read him a child's picture book. Aichi should have felt pain and hatred whenever he looked at the child because he knew- this was the child who replaced the person he had tried to bring back. Even when he knew that, he couldn't detest the child no matter what he did. He was getting used to have someone wake him up and greet him when it was still dawn then fall asleep as fast as that on his lap, or someone who would request for Aichi play with him when reaching out to childishly hand out toys to him. They would spend their days laughing and playing. Aichi knew it shouldn't be like this.

Instead, it felt... normal. _Too_ normal.

Days of happiness never last for eternity- a fact Aichi had taught himself since childhood. He had been through so much and until now, this fact seemed to prove his situation; whenever he found a reason to smile and be happy, it was always taken away from him.

Aichi found himself hesitate and stopped before Kai's bedroom. There was something bothering him about the way Kai was starting to act during mornings, as if he wasn't himself... He shook his head and with the new found confidence, his hand turned the doorknob.

Like he had expected, the child was already awake. "Kai-kun, morning."

Kai had already dressed himself and was seated on his bed, looking down at the ground, body perfectly still. The curtains were still closed, but the sunlight filtered through them, giving Aichi enough light to see the child. When he realised he was spoken to, the child merely stared at Aichi for a moment then looked back down at his lap, cocking his head to the side slightly, as if thinking. The sudden morning hugs Kai had occasionally given Aichi stopped.

Aichi tried to ignore the cold shiver which seeped through his body like poison, shaking him to the core and instead, tried to smile. It came out as a weak and wavering expression. "Did you sleep well?"

His hand rested on the child's small ones as he crouched down to his level to search for any signs of sickness.

His hands felt cold.

Kai raised his eyes to meet with Aichi's own concerned ones once again. Aichi swallowed, feeling his throat burn with uncertainty mixed with the bitter taste of fear. Kai broke eye-contact and shrugged. Aichi was taken aback by this, but said nothing, biting his lip before standing up.

This movement gained the child's attention. He raised his head to look at Aichi, his eyes clouded with confusion. "Daddy?"

Aichi opened his mouth to say something but Emi's voice surprised them both.

"I was about to wake you guys up, but it looks that you're up already."

Kai jumped out of the bed, startling Aichi.

"Emi!" Kai beamed cheerfully, grabbing Aichi by his hand to drag him down to breakfast. The odd behaviour only lasted for a few seconds, then he returned to the innocent and naive child Aichi was starting to get used to. The warmth of his hand would return too, and Aichi did no longer flinch when he touched the child.

"Good morning, Kai!" Emi answered with equal cheerfulness, patting the little child on the head. Kai closed his eyes at the touch and giggled when Emi softly flicked his nose teasingly. "Your hair looks terrible."

Aichi had to keep himself from laughing as the toddler pouted and tried to sort out his messy hair. Kai pouting was irresistibly cute and amusing at the same time.

* * *

Aichi let out a sigh as Kai grabbed his hand, stopping him from leaving. "I'm going to school."

Aichi wasn't ready yet to face his friends at school; he even tried faking a sickness but his mother saw through it and forced him to go to school. Emi had sent him a helpless look, as if telling him that there was nothing that could be done. Aichi truly missed his friends but he preferred staying here with Kai instead of going to face them with a complete lie.

"S-School?" Little Kai looked at his father in worry. Was this "school" something bad that would take his father away?

"School is a fun place where you learn many new things" Aichi explained to him, oblivious to what Kai was thinking.

Kai seemed to understand, because he let go of his father's hand and ran to the kitchen. Aichi cocked his head to one side with a slight frown, wondering if he had somehow made Kai upset. Instead, the child came back with one of his brightest smiles as he handed Aichi his schoolbag which he forgot when he was eating his breakfast.

"School! Fun!" Kai beamed.

Aichi smiled softly as he took the bag and ruffled the child's hair. "Thank you, Kai. Be nice to mom, okay?"

"Bye, Kai!" Emi chirped cheerfully and dragged her older brother from the doorway before they would be late for school.

"Bye-bye, Emi, daddy!"

* * *

A few minutes after both siblings left to school, Kai was already pouting, starting to feel bored. He thought he had a chance to explore the house, but just by walking around, he realised that it wasn't as exciting as he had imagined it to be; he had imagined the house to be enormous and colourful with many new and exciting objects all around.

He recognised the most unusual places in the house as Kai liked to play hide-and-seek with Emi and Aichi, mainly because he and Emi found it funny when they would both hide where it was almost impossible for Aichi to locate them. Aichi would be confused and pretend to give up, when the next second, he appears to stand behind them with an amused smile when they were too occupied in stifling their giggles to notice him.

After Kai decided that he wanted to draw, the child lay on his bedroom floor, crayons scattered around him. He had one small hand beneath his chin as he drew himself and his father holding hands; a bright smile on his face and his feet swung back and forth in the air, humming softly.

Shizuka walked up behind him slowly. She noticed the drawing and smiled. "That's a wonderful drawing, Kai."

Kai looked up at the woman and giggled a bit. He laid down the crayon he was using and examined his masterpiece then turned his head to look up at her. "R-really?"

She knelt down beside him and patted his head, causing Kai's eyes to close at the contact. "I think Aichi would love it."

"Gift to daddy!"

"That's a brilliant idea. It's beautiful. I'm sure Aichi would be happy."

He continued to draw, blushing a bit, hoping that Aichi would like it. The child had felt that Aichi was upset and uneasy when he left the house, and Aichi told him that things called "gifts" were used to make someone happy. Kai did not fully understand Aichi; what did he mean by gifts making someone "happy"? However, he remembered that he and Aichi did draw together one time, where he also remembered seeing his father smile.

Shizuka smiled softly at him. "Do you need anything? Hungry perhaps?"

Kai nodded and smiled back at her. He liked Shizuka; she was a really warm and kind person. "Little hungry."

"I am a little hungry," Shizuka corrected, encouraging the child to speak in full sentences. She was impressed when Kai repeated the sentence correctly only after one attempt. She chuckled and placed a plate of sandwiches next to him on the floor with a packet of juice. Kai took one and munched happily on his sandwich.

"Want to come shopping with me, Kai?" The child smiled as he swallowed the food and nodded cheerfully at Shizuka's suggestion.

* * *

Aichi was surprised. He expected his friends to fill his silence with questions and exclaims. However, they merely hugged him and asked a few questions about how he had been, "Are you okay?" and "We missed you."

He responded to their questions with a genuine smile; he realised that he had missed his precious friends more than he would think he would. A tear slid down his face, and he wiped it hastily before it could be seen by them.

"What happened?"

He forced a smile and explained, knowing that either way, the question had to be asked sooner or later. They had a right to know. He lied to them, and told them about how he defeated Kai and how Kai had disappeared without a trace when he woke up. Aichi told his story in as much detail as his imagination would allow him, and when he paused to let words sink in, he glanced at his friends and pressed his lips together in a tight line as he saw the different displays of emotions on their faces. They allowed him to read their emotions and let him understand what they thought, whereas Aichi kept his face blank. He hated lying, but if it was to protect Kai from hatred and the burden the other Kai left behind, he would lie.

* * *

Every second, Kai pointed at something new. This was the first time the child had been outside with so many people. He only remembered the scent of flowers, the blue sky and how he giggled each time the grass tickled him when he moved; that was the only time when he remembered leaving the house. Going out and being with so many people got Kai nervous yet excited at the same time.

Shizuka smiled at the child's enthusiasm and gently took his hand so he wouldn't get lost in such a crowd, letting Kai freely observe his surroundings and drag her somewhere else at will when he caught sight of an interesting object.

Shizuka had to admit that she too had developed some sort of affection towards the little child. It was cute how Kai and Aichi were attached to each other yet in an odd way, as if they had known each other for years. However, she never failed to notice the way Aichi would suddenly stiffen and flinch when Kai was near him, as if he wanted to purposely keep himself at a certain distance from the child. Shizuka never understood her son's behaviour, nor asked about it; she assumed that Aichi just felt uncomfortable being seen as the child's father when he was still young. At that, Shizuka chuckled; she _loved_ teasing her son about that.

She looked down when Kai stopped moving, and clutched his head with one hand, his other not letting go of her own.

Kai felt heat rush up to his cheeks and a sharp pain shot up his head. The voices around him became muffled and distant, followed by his surrounding which went black. He flinched as a wave of fear moved through him and his grip tightened around Shizuka's hand. She noticed this and took him to a nearby store.

Kai calmed down a little and when he was able to see again. He blinked his eyes to adjust them to the bright light from a shop. When Shizuka was nowhere to be seen, little Kai looked around the shop, seeing many clothes of different colours and styles. He looked down and rubbed his eyes roughly when the colours drained from his sight. When he blinked and looked back again, a small bottle of water was offered to him. Kai glanced up hesitantly and slowly accepted the water.

Shizuka held up two shirts for the boy to see. "So, which one do you like?"

Kai paused from drinking and looked at the two shirts, then back up at Shizuka, blinking in confusion. When she gave him an encouraging smile, the child looked back at the two shirts. Both clothes Shizuka held were simple; a blue vest and the other was a stripy green T-shirt, which she picked by instinct to match the colour of his eyes .

Kai was silent for a moment then pointed at the blue one. "Daddy!"

Shizuka smiled and nodded,"A reminder of Aichi, huh? So cute~"

Kai watched as she walked away from him to purchase the clothes in her hands.

There was a sound.

His eyes, now widened in fear, glanced around the clothes shop. His small heart thumped in his chest with many different levels of hatred and nostalgia. Kai had never felt like this before; these were emotions foreign to him, completely opposite and more painful than what he had remembered feeling before, leaving him overwhelmed. He felt good and normal, yet the child knew this wasn't something he should get acclimatized to.

Kai placed his small hands to cover his ears, but the sound was still there, playing again and again in his head repeatedly like a soft lullaby. Kai ran out through the open door to make it go away.

The ringing of soft bells became clearer and louder the further he ran. The child felt cold as the wind blew past him or as water soaked his shoes and feet when he ran over a puddle of rain; he could feel the coldness that spread through his fragile body start to freeze him and the jingling bells increased in volume.

Someone was searching for him in the darkness. He had to get away...

"Daddy..."

Kai was welcomed by a sudden light. The child blinked, and slowly let his hands drop from his ears. There was no sound... everything was silent.

"Ah, I'm sorry, this shop is closed today-" A voice spoke up. Kai looked up to see a tall man with green hair wearing a friendly and apologetic smile on his face. His eyebrows furrowed a little with confusion as he greeted a figure much smaller than him. "Oh, are you lost, little child?"

Kai blinked again, and looked around timidly. It was a place he did not recognise. He backed away slowly, feeling worry overwhelm him. He was supposed to be with Shizuka, so where was this place?

Soft fur stroke against his legs, causing the little child to instantly react, jumping away with a startled yell of surprise. He could hear the man laugh as he picked up and held a cat in his arms- the source of his surprise.

"I think he likes you," the man spoke, adjusting his glasses with one free hand. He cast the child a short smile. "You can touch him, if you want."

Kai approached them both carefully and stood on tiptoe to touch the cat's ears, surprised by how soft they felt. He let out a small giggle as the grey and white cat moved its head to his touch. "Kitty?"

And when the cat let out a soft "meow", Kai suddenly felt like staying here for a while.

* * *

"Ah, Misaki!" The manger of the shop, Shin Nitta, greeted his niece as the doors slid open. "Welcome back. No club activities today?"

Misaki sighed, placing her schoolbag on a nearby chair. "Aichi said he had something to do. He got a phone call from his mother and ran off..."

Shin nodded thoughtfully. "I see, then it must be something important."

It wasn't surprising how silence took over after that; Misaki always liked to keep conversations brief.

"Who's that?" Misaki asked monotonously, pointing at a child looking at cards next to her cat. Shin followed her gaze, and after giving it some thought, he sighed.

"He seems to be lost. Do you recognise him, by any chance?"

Misaki approached the child, who turned to look at her. She flinched under his gaze, feeling alarmed and a cold emotion welled up in her heart. "That is..."

Noticing his niece's uneasiness, Shin put down the boxes he was carrying and turned his attention back to her. "What's wrong, Misaki?"

Misaki kept silent and tried not to avert her eyes from the child. He had the same emerald eyes but they were warm and confused instead of the piercing and calculating . She quickly shook her head and, trying to calm herself down. "No, nothing... he just reminded me of Kai Toshiki."

"Now that you mention it... he does look similar, doesn't he? I never noticed..."

"Good-for-nothing manager..." She muttered bitterly and turned back to the child, observing him as he looked at the cards with interest, although he didn't seem to understand their purpose.

"Um, that's a Gold Paladin card... Little Liberator Marron."

Kai looked at her the beautiful lavender haired woman then back at the card, his voice held fascination as he uttered the name. "Mallon..."

"No, it's Marron," Misaki corrected nonchalantly.

The child gazed up at her with an innocent expression. "Mallon?"

Misaki's eyes twitched slightly. "Marron."

"Mallon..."

"Ma-rr-on. Marron."

"Ma-rr-on..." the child repeated slowly. "Mallon!"

Misaki resisted the strong urge to hit her head on the table. It was her first time meeting this child and she was already getting tired of his persistence and stubbornness... or maybe it was just because he couldn't pronounce words correctly yet; either way, she didn't like cards being called by the wrong name. "You know what? Just forget it," She sighed and took the card from Kai's small hands to study it. She flipped over the card to give Kai a good view of the card. "Then, that's Little Liberator Mallon, okay?"

"Okay!" The child beamed.

She bent down to Kai's level and pointed at another card, sighing as she did so, yet keeping her monotonous voice. "And this card is a Kagero."

"Kagelo...?"

Misaki sighed once more; she didn't want the same thing to continuously repeat, and her glare didn't work on the oblivious child, so she gave in quickly this time. "Yes, Kagelo."

Surprising her, the child raised another card for Misaki to see and pointed to it, waiting for her to read out the name. Were all children interested in a card game at this age? She felt herself staring at the child and noticed further similarities between Kai and this child.

She shook her head; if Kai really was this child, it wouldn't fit with Aichi's story which he had explained to them earlier today during lunch break. However, Aichi's story hadn't been convincing enough to her due to the lack of detail and the hesitation which was shown in his voice as he spoke, but she had decided against asking about it after seeing Aichi's blank expression.

"A Shadow Paladin unit... Dark Metal Dragon."

The little child gave her a bright smile and turned to look at the card in his hand. Misaki blinked. The smile he gave her was too simple; not too innocent and nothing of resentment- just a simple, naive and childlike smile. She found herself smiling back warmly at the child.

She had to stop thinking like this. Besides, how in the world would Kai possibly be able to turn into a child? Considering everything they had been through, it wasn't impossible...

Misaki was about to ask for the child's name, when she spotted a figure outside the shop, pausing and scanning his surroundings in a worried manner. It didn't take a long time for her to recognise the figure; his blue hair stood out the most to her.

"Aichi! Wait! Is everything okay?"

Aichi stopped as he recognised the voice. He quailed at the thought of having to explain his actions one more time. He felt beyond happy to be able to see Misaki but why did it have to be at the incorrect time?

He gulped nervously and faced her with a tired smile. "Yes, sorry to worry you..."

Misaki studied him for a brief second, her blank expression melting into a genuinely concerned one. "Are you looking for someone? I can help you, if you want."

"It's fine, really!"

Misaki opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again and she shifted her gaze from him to look at the ground. At that, Aichi's eyes widened then narrowed in regret; Misaki probably doubted his words.

"Daddy!" A voice exclaimed. Aichi sighed in relief without having to look at the source of the voice.

"Where were you? Everyone is worried" He spoke in a slow, tired tone as the child ran up to him to give him a hug. Aichi reached to pat him on the head. "Don't run away like that again, okay?"

The child nodded, burying his face in Aichi's shirt to feel his father's warmth; he had missed him so much since Aichi left to school.

Misaki watched the whole scene, her face turning paler each second. She hesitated, her eyes widening. "Aichi, you have a c-child?"

"Huh?" Aichi looked at Misaki, confused as to why she looked so shocked. "Yes-"

Realisation slowly dawned on him as his face started to hold nearly the same expression as her's. "No, no! Let me explain first!"

"Daddy! Daddy! Mallon!"

Aichi's attention turned to Kai, not sure if he really wanted to explain anything to Misaki at all. She was his friend, he pondered, and a trusted one at most. He snapped out from his daze and looked down at a card Kai was holding out to him with a cheerful smile. Aichi smiled back, pleased to see the child looking happy. "Huh? Oh, that's Little Liberator, Marron!" Aichi returned Kai's enthusiasm.

Misaki recovered from her shock and sighed in obvious annoyance; it seemed when it came to cards and Vanguard, leave it to Aichi and little Kai to give her a headache. Together combined, their excitement would equal that of two cheerleaders.

"You call this unit 'Mallon'? That's cool, Kai-kun!"

"Cool!"

Unable to conceal her irritation any further, Misaki snapped and glared at the both of them, her aura escalating to become more alarming. "For the last time, it's Marron!"

Aichi laughed nervously when Kai hid behind him, grasping onto his shirt.

* * *

"I see," Misaki paused, taking in the information then looked at Aichi solemnly. "You should have told us."

Aichi looked down regretfully, his fingers clutching the fabric of his black trousers. "I'm sorry..."

Misaki closed her eyes after hearing Aichi apologise so sincerely for many different things. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulders and offered him a warm smile. "It's okay, I understand your reasons."

Aichi relaxed for a moment and looked at Misaki hopefully. "Really?"

"Yes, you're afraid that we might hate Kai."

Aichi bit his lower lip and gave her a small nod to confirm. When Misaki stayed silent, Aichi gave her a bright, thankful smile. "I'm glad it was you I had to talk to, Misaki-san."

Misaki smiled to herself. Aichi himself used to own the confidence of a child; she was shocked when Aichi told her the truth without further hesitation and with that same expression of strong resolve on his face as the one he would show when he was serious. She leaned back a little, feeling the sunlight hit her skin once she was out of the shade cast by the trees. "If you ask me, I'm glad it was just Kai. You're still young, you know"

Aichi blushed lightly when Misaki regarded him with amused eyes. "I-I told you to stop teasing me like that!" Aichi's eyes widened and his face registered confusion as he turned to fully face the older girl. "Wait, you mean it's fine like this?"

"What?"

"You don't hate Kai-kun?"

Misaki followed Aichi's gaze to look at the child seated on the grass in front of them, silently stroking the cat in his lap. "I thought I would but strangely, I don't"

Aichi let out a curious "Why?" when Misaki smiled.

"Don't know," she shrugged and Aichi had to chuckle at the Misaki-like response.

"Thank you."

* * *

Aichi didn't mind Kai's presence in his room as he studied. He glanced at the child every once in a while, making sure that he was okay. He always found himself exhale the air he had held inside when he saw the child safe. Today's earlier incident seemed to have an effect on him; he could easily imagine the child disappear from his view and never come back. That caused Aichi to unconsciously clutch his pencil with force. He shook his head and turned his attention back to the enemy on his desk; the very thick booklet resting in front of him. Aichi, unable to focus, sighed deeply and resisted the urge to collide his head with the desk.

Kai hummed softly, swinging his legs back and forth as he was seated on the edge of the bed. He puffed his cheeks in slight annoyance, watching as Aichi silently tried to solve mathematical problems and scribbled notes down every ten seconds. He was jealous of the many pieces of papers on Aichi's desk; Shizuka had bought him new games and he wanted to play with his dad! Besides, Emi and Shizuka were both busy preparing dinner, so no one could play with him. The child laid back down on the soft blanket and turned his head to the side. His eyes lit up in curiosity when he noticed the stack of cards in front of him, neatly placed on top of Aichi's pillow. Reaching out to hold them, he rolled over to his side cautiously. The feeling was familiar when he held a card in his hands, as he had spent time with Misaki learning names of cards. In between Kai's hands, he could see a warrior on the top card, holding a sword.

* * *

_Little Kai's emerald eyes widened slightly as he tied his shoe laces on the sidewalk. His hands were a lot bigger than they were and more skilled as they moved the laces around until they formed a firm knot. He found his attention shift to the sound of light footsteps and looked up at a small figure. The warm blue colour was nostalgic; it reminded him of his father. Unable to control his own actions, Kai only watched as he, himself, rose to his feet and faced the smaller boy with a grin. His own mouth moved, but it wasn't clear to even him what was being said. He saw the blue-haired boy lower his gaze to the ground, trying to ignore his presence. Kai felt himself move and hold out a card to the other boy. "Here, take this card!"_

_The boy flinched, as if expecting the other to hit him. He accepted the card with shaking hands, too timid and frightened to look up at him. "Blaster Blade..."_

_"Imagine yourself a strong person like this warrior here!"_

* * *

"Blaster Blade..." The child spoke softly, hands tracing the edges of the card.

Aichi flinched and unintentionally dropped the pencil from his hand, watching as it rolled on the piece of paper on his desk until it found a place to rest. Aichi turned to fully face the child, who was intrigued by the similarity of this card to his dream's.

"Huh? Do you... remember?"

"Remember?" The child repeated, tilting his head to the side. He looked at Aichi with his big green eyes. "Blaster Blade?"

Aichi nodded, earning a confused expression from the little child. "How do you know this card is called Blaster Blade? Did Emi or Misaki tell you?"

Kai listened intently to Aichi as he spoke, trying to understand every word, and shook his head to answer his question. Aichi's expression was... unreadable; the child didn't know if Aichi was angry at him, shocked, or pleased. This blank expression on Aichi's face always frightened him.

Aichi glanced at the new drawings he had pinned up on the wall of his bedroom. He liked both drawings and had accepted them as a present from Kai. It was funny at first how he was at a loss of words when Kai first gave him the drawings with the brightest smile on his face; Aichi shamefully admitted that he was worse than a small child when it came to drawing things. One of them was hard to interpret, so Aichi had just shrugged it off without paying too much attention to the detail. Only now did he realise the meaning of it; the picture was drawn in a clumsy manner and lack of detail but in the middle there were two figures and a card.

Them as children and Blaster Blade.

* * *

**(I had to re-post this chapter again as some text was missing. I'm really sorry for anyone who read it before!)**

**Decided to add a little humor & more dialogue in this chapter to lighten up the mood; I just noticed that the plot of this story is too depressing, in a way.**

**Once again, I thank you for all the support and reviews. If you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to let me know!**

**Disclaimer****: I do not own CFV.**


	7. Chapter 6: Parting with Lies

_Re-birth_

_Chapter 6_

_Parting with Lies I_

Aichi tore his eyes away from the pictures on the wall and looked at Kai. "What is happening? How can you read? How did you know this card was Blaster Blade?" He received a confused look from the child and stopped himself before he would say anything else. There were so many more questions he wanted to ask; he assumed that Kai's memories had returned but with that expression on the child, he felt the desperate need to confirm it.

"Then, my name... do you remember it?" There was a chance Kai would know, even if he didn't regain his memories, as he must have heard people calling him by his name before. Still, a child wouldn't understand...

"Name?" The child paused and looked up at Aichi, blinking. "Daddy?"

The glimmer of hope instantly died in his eyes, and it was replaced by a dull blue shade. He closed them, and the impact of the sudden change pierced him in the heart as soon as it dawned to him that his friend wasn't back to normal and that feeling of having his hopes crushed really _hurt_.

"I see..." He said slowly, turning to look at the drawings one more time. His expression, although displayed sadness, carried a form of a soft smile. He didn't understand what triggered this sudden emotion, but taking Kai's tiny hand in his, he felt like voicing the one thought he had in mind.

_It will be okay, I promise..._

* * *

_Brown hair was ruffled when a shifting sound filled the void of silence, sliding to cover the soulless eyes with the brown bangs. A smirk danced its way on the lips which were once pressed against each other tightly into one line to suppress any sort of emotion. There was a vibe of emptiness within the darkness, an air of harmful intent lingered around the area; one which punctured the lungs of someone if they breathed its toxic particles._

_A faint green from the light emerald eyes remained, but the glint of determination and strength within them had decayed, sinking to the bottom to give his eyes a dark reflection. If he would display any kind of emotion, it wouldn't reach his eyes; happiness, anger or despair... his lips and eyebrows would express any other necessary emotion, but his eyes would remain the same._

_Dead._

_He laughed; an empty laughter. It carried no real meaning or relevance but in the same way a marionette would move according to the tone of music. He paused for a brief moment, the laughter around him quietened down until it reached the volume of an inaudible echo. His eyes narrowed, for memories flooded his head once more, reminding him of all past emotions he felt- ones he would not forget. __That was the only time when his rage felt so realistic that he almost felt human again; a human drowned in a sea of hatred._

_For a fleeting instant, the life in his eyes returned, a voice, holding weakness yet determination spoke._

_'This is wrong.'_

_There was a deep silence until the second voice spoke again. 'Aichi is my...'_  
_Then he paused, voice shaking, and one would imagine the way he would try to blink away the drops before they would cascade in an endless ritual, to prevent showing any weaknesses._

_"Be quiet," he spat in rage at no one in particular. "The only thing you should feel is betrayal."_

_'These aren't my real emotions,' the weak voice replied, this time in his head._

_His teeth clenched and hands formed fists. "I ordered you to be quiet! Once this is over, I will get rid of your whole existence; your memories, your feelings... everything."_

_He could feel the other's presence perish within his mind. At this, he let out another chuckle and rested his hand on his head for no particular reason; perhaps to make sure the other voice would not come and bother him again, or perhaps he would do this as some sort of habit._

_"It's about time."_

* * *

Aichi paced back and forth, trying to think. Outside, the moon had already risen, it's light filtered by the glass of the window, an eerie noise of the wind howling through the branches of trees. The green blades below seemed to gleam, and for a moment, the grass bristled, before subtly following the rhythm of the wind.

He tried to think about the whole weird incident, what it meant and how it happened.

"Kai-kun?" His eyes widened for a brief moment as he caught a fleeting glimpse of the light-brown and green colours hiding behind the door. Aichi smiled lightly, realising that Kai was just worried about him.

"Come here." With one hand and an encouraging nod, he motioned for the child to come. Kai glanced nervously at Aichi, the small footsteps coming to a halt, as he paused when he entered Aichi's room, large green eyes observed Aichi as if studying him. Kai thought for a moment, trying to figure out why Aichi was smiling and didn't look angry with him. But it was still there... a heavy feeling placed on his heart like a burden; little Kai was sure he had done something really bad... but he just wasn't sure what it was, and it didn't allow him to sleep no matter how much he tried. Standing before Aichi, Kai bit his lip, feeling like he wanted to run away.

Strong, warm arms encircled the little child's small figure before he could run. He felt himself panic and cringe, trying to pull away with all strength he could muster. Aichi should be mad at him; he had clearly done something wrong. He was convinced that his father hated him and wanted to leave him. Aichi shouldn't like him...

Aichi tightened his arms around the little boy and pulled him closer, trying to pat his head until the struggling broke down into squirming, followed by motionlessness. For a moment, Kai was silent, but when his small body started to shake lightly and soft whimpering escaped his trembling lips, Aichi shut his eyes, knowing that Kai was crying.

Aichi kept patting the child on the head, keeping a gentle smile, yet the sorrow could be seen through his eyes like transparent glass whenever he opened his eyes to look at the clock. As he listened to Kai's cries, he could also hear the handle of the clock ticking on his wall, and with each second, the child's wailing grew louder and more fierce. Aichi couldn't think of anything to do to, so he kept stroking the child's hair until he would calm down.

What had caused Kai to cry so much? He couldn't have remembered everything that happened before the whole incident started. He was just a small child; he would not be able to understand and grasp the situation of these painful memories... it was the feelings. The feelings from his lost memories were slowly devouring him, creating a feeling of longing and hurt. Aichi knew these feelings too well; they once made him feel that he should be hated instead of loved because he had hurt the most precious people around him after breaking free from the power of PsyQualia. If there was a way Aichi could make Kai understand that he had forgiven him a long time ago, the child wouldn't be feeling like this.

"Promise me something, Kai-kun..." Aichi spoke when Kai started sobbing. "Don't cry. You've always been a good boy. Daddy loves you very much, okay?"

The child buried his face in Aichi's shirt, and Aichi could feel the coldness of tears soaking his shirt. Kai's tiny hands were gripping his shirt, his small figure trembling, and his voice uncertain and shaking. "Daddy... love me?"

"Yes."

"Sorry... daddy."

"Don't apologise."

"Sorry..." Kai repeated, letting go of Aichi's shirt to rub away the tears with his hands. "Sorry..."

"Don't apologise," Aichi tried to keep his own lips from shaking as he spoke. "You haven't done anything bad."

* * *

When morning came, Aichi understood why he had felt fear of losing Kai; he didn't know that this would be the last time both of them would laugh and cry together. When he entered Kai's bedroom in hopes of waking him up, green eyes, wide with fear and confusion met with his, and that was when realisation dawned on him.

Kai looked about three years older than yesterday; the clothes fit uncomfortably tight and short, but most of all, those large, curious, mesmerizing eyes watched each and every movement of the blue-haired boy before him.

"Who are you?" A confused, slightly lower pitched voice asked. When Aichi shifted, Kai moved back, fingers digging into the blanket. Those emerald eyes shone as tears formed in them.

Kai was scared of _him_.

The first thing Aichi thought of doing was moving back so he wouldn't scare the child, but his mind was frozen at the moment. Aichi could hear the sound of his own breathing, and he could feel the way his heart thumped rapidly against his rib cage, providing his lungs with the oxygen he needed. He was alive yet...

_Why...? Why don't you remember me?_

It was a bitter feeling, one he couldn't understand; it flooded his head with emotions that triggered tears from the ocean blue eyes, but he tried to hold them back. He was making sure that his breathing was even; making sure that he opened his mouth to breathe in then out, but he felt like his whole body was suffocating and slowly collapsing.

_Why?_

"Where are mum and dad?"

Aichi swallowed, slowly then looked at the terrified child. "Your... mum and dad...?"

"Yeah, where are they?" The six-year old seemed to grow more impatient with each second. "Why am I here? Who are you?"

"Your parents are... they are..." Aichi bit his lip, hesitating at his next words. He realised that the _parents_ Kai was referring to must be the parents Kai used to live with before. Aichi had never seen Kai's family even once; Where were Kai's parents? What could he tell him about them?

Aichi remembered a conversation he once had with Miwa not too many days ago.

_"Miwa-kun, does Kai-kun have any family or relatives?"_

_"No, his parents died in a car accident and his uncle lives far away."_

Aichi chose his words carefully as he glanced at Kai. "They are on a short business trip. I'm Aichi, I'll be taking care of you for a while."

"Oh." Kai said simply, and Aichi noticed the way his shoulders immediately relaxed.

"Um... I'll get you some clothes?" Aichi paused at the door, then added awkwardly. "... and maybe breakfast?"

Kai merely nodded and jumped out of the bed, waiting for Aichi to come back.

* * *

_"Then, do you know his uncle?" Aichi asked Miwa who just shrugged. When Aichi called Miwa informing him that they had to talk, Miwa suggested that they could meet at a cafe, as Aichi's choice of words didn't make him sound like he was just in need of a companion or something similar to what Miwa previously thought._

_"No, I don't know," He took a sip from his coffee then glanced at him suspiciously, grey eyes narrowing slightly. "Hey, Aichi, why are you asking me this all of a sudden?"_

_Aichi nearly jumped out of his seat. Miwa snickered quietly; if Aichi was trying to lie, well, he wasn't doing a very good job at it. "Um, I was thinking that maybe Kai-kun would have gone home."_

_Miwa offered the boy a grin."Well, at least he wouldn't go to his uncle's house, that's for sure."_

_A curious pair of blue eyes looked up at him. "Why?"_

_For a moment, Aichi thought he saw Miwa frown, but it was quickly replaced with his normal smile. "Well, let's just say both got into a friendly fight and Kai's on bad terms with him, okay? His uncle just sends him money and that's all."_

_"So... Kai-kun doesn't have any family?"_

_"No... I don't think so."_

_Aichi whispered his friend's name quietly. "Kai-kun..."_

_"It would be nice if he could open up a little bit more to us."_

_"Miwa-kun..."_

_"He wasn't like that before... I know that Kai isn't the type of person to __choose power over his friends and he must have had a reason for it, at least that's what I like to believe."_

_"Miwa-kun..." Aichi repeated his name once more, not finding anything else to say. He felt horrible that he wasn't telling Kai's best friend of Kai's condition and making him worry like that. Aichi thought of how Kai would handle the situation if he was in a similar position to his._

_Miwa picked up his mug and shook it lightly, watching how the liquid inside moved. "This might be just a hunch but you know something, don't you, Aichi?"_

_Aichi ignored his question, and looked at Miwa with determined eyes. "If you saw Kai-kun again, would you hate him, Miwa-kun?"_

_Miwa seemed to be taken aback by Aichi's question, causing him to choke on his drink. "What- well, I might forgive him depending on his reasons but of course, I can't just hate someone I consider a best friend, you know!"_

* * *

For now, Aichi's top priority was to take care of Kai as best as he could, until he would be able to work out what exactly happened and what to do. He decided he would find and speak to Takuto, using PsyQualia, and if it didn't work, then maybe even with Leon, as he was better acquainted with him during their fight together.

Aichi smiled as he watched the child put on a white sweater. When Kai turned around to acknowledge Aichi's presence, Aichi tried his best to suppress a chuckle at the comical sight before him.

A six-year-old Kai Toshiki almost drowned in a large sweater.

Kai noticed the amusement in Aichi's eyes and gave the best annoyed glare he could perform at this moment.

"It suits you?" Aichi tried, but the child puffed his cheeks and pouted.

"It's big!"

Aichi blinked, not used to converse in such a way with Kai. When Kai was a little three-years old toddler, it didn't feel as odd as it felt now. "Well, they are my clothes from last year."

"Why would you keep old clothes?"

"I don't know. My mom just likes to keep them." Aichi noticed how Kai's eyes dimmed, and quickly changed the subject. He, himself, was not comfortable with sharing facts about his own family, and seeing that it only worsened Kai's current state, he decided to avoid that particular subject.

"I made some food," he sat the tray on a desk next to the bed to emphasise his point. Kai shifted his eyes from the older boy to look at the _food _in front of him. He didn't understand how a flat, pitch-black object clumsily laid out on a plate could be called 'food'. It had a weird, mysterious shape too, Kai noted, and quite a frightening aura surrounding it for it to be called food. Kai gulped and mentally shivered.

"Emi has a school field trip, and Mom was worried so she went with her," Aichi flashed Kai an apologetic smile. "I can't cook really well and that's why I'm not sure if it is edible-"

Kai blinked curiously, tearing his glare away from the abnormal object next to him. "What's ed-dee-bal?"

Aichi paused after the sudden interruption, and looked at the child. "It means something that can be eaten." He felt confused when he heard the child let out a soft "_Oh, so this is supposed to be food_" comment. Aichi realised that at this moment, Kai was looking at him like he was an alien from space, and he didn't like it one bit.

"So..." Kai looked back down at the food nervously. "You're testing it? On me?"

Aichi chuckled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, not sure what to say.

* * *

"What are _you_ making?"

The kitchen was very warm from the heat emitted from the hob of the cooker. Aichi took in the mess on the counters. Flour and a tub of butter, a milk jug, a measuring cup and spoons. A large mixing bowl was sitting on the table, and Aichi peered in to see the mixture.

"Food!" Kai replied cheerfully.

Aichi let out a chuckle at the honest answer, "I can see that, but _what_ type of food are you making?"

"Pancakes," Came the simple response. Kai dragged a large footstool towards the counter. Aichi stepped away from the bowl while Kai climbed up and tried to open a pack of flour. "Yours looked like it came from space."

For the tenth time that day, Aichi apologised. "I'm sorry..."

The child let out a playful grin then turned his attention back to what he was previously doing.

Aichi paused when he realised something. "How do you know how to cook?"

"I just know," Kai replied and poked his tongue out in concentration as he pulled at the packet of flour with his small fingers. "Mom and dad are always busy with work, so I learned how to look after myself because of that..." He groaned when the packet refused to give.

So that was why Kai had easily believed his lie that his parents were working. It was a mere coincidence that both of their stories matched. Aichi couldn't help but feel a smile tug at his lips.

"Here, let me help you with that," Aichi offered, and in defeat, Kai allowed him to reach out and grab the pack from his hands. He pouted, crossing his arms over his chest while Aichi smiled his usual polite smile, obviously trying to stifle his laughter. He held the bag up and easily tugged the paper apart.

Unfortunately, the tug was a little too hard.

Both Kai and Aichi let out strangled yelps when the paper tore more than necessary and flour exploded over them and onto the counter, the floor and even into the bowl of pancake mixture. For a moment, silence took over as both stared down at the floor coated with flour before looking up at each other.

"...Um..." Aichi said slowly and Kai's lips stretched into a slow smile before he burst into laughter.

"Ahaha! That was so funny! Hahaha! Your face!" Kai managed to say between laughter, pointing his finger straight at Aichi. The other chuckled lightly as he put the torn pieces of paper onto the counter and began to sweep up the flour on the counter. He glanced at the pile in his hands once he finished, unsure, and turned to Kai.

"Um... what should I do with it?" he asked, looking around for the bin. Kai stared at it for a brief moment before shrugging and smacking Aichi's hands lightly from the bottom. Aichi yelped when the flour cascaded from his fingers and into the mixing bowl.

"We can just use it!" He said cheerfully. Aichi nearly sweat-dropped at the amount of optimism the child owned. It amazed him, actually and this was a side of Kai Aichi never knew he had.

With a short sigh, Aichi bent down to clean the floor with a dustpan whilst Kai worked on the pancake mixture.

Still, it surprised him how Kai was able to cook with confidence when he was just, Aichi assumed, six years old. However, Aichi himself had always relied on his mother or sister when it came to food; they would always do the cooking, and at times, Aichi would feel bad for not helping out. He knew he would one day regret not learning how to cook, and he was grateful that Kai was here to help out-

_Crack._

Aichi stopped sweeping the floor when he felt a cold, sticky substance on his head. Aichi raised his fingers to touch the substance for confirmation. He raised his head to glance up on Kai who was sitting on the stool above him, wearing a sheepish grin.

"Was that... an egg...?" Aichi asked slowly. The child lowered his hands and the grin left his face.

"Um, it was an accident!" The child said quickly, green eyes huge. "... Oops?"

* * *

_"I can't just hate someone I consider a best friend, you know!"_

Aichi pondered about Miwa's words, and he found his fists clenching until his knuckles lost their colour.

_I can't as well... no, I wouldn't be able to hate, Kai-kun..._

He quickly released his hands and cast a quick glance at Kai.

_... but with things going as they are now, what should I do? How can I help him return to normal?_

"Hey, can I go see Miwa?"

Aichi found himself panicking at the next words that came out from the child's mouth. He jumped up from his sitting position on the sofa. Kai looked oddly at him, but being the oblivious child he was, thankfully didn't question Aichi's behaviour.

"Miwa-kun? N-No, you can't!" Aichi's eyes widened at his own mistake, covering his mouth with his hands by reflex. Once he calmed down, he went on to explain. "Um... I don't know where he lives..." Aichi quickly blurted out. It wasn't a lie; Aichi had never been to Miwa's house before.

"I know where he lives," Kai stated cheerfully, not quite catching how tense the atmosphere around them was. "So can I go?"

If Kai were to meet his former best friend, Miwa, either he wouldn't recognise the older version of him or he might, but both results did sound very appealing to Aichi. "But I have to look after you-"

"You can come too," Kai smiled brightly, and Aichi couldn't find any other excuses as to why he wouldn't allow Kai to go there. "His family are really nice."

Could this situation get any worse than it already was?

Aichi nodded, unable to resist Kai's smile, and silently prayed that Miwa would not be home at that very moment.

* * *

**There! Just finished another very random chapter. As you already know, Kai turned into a six-year old from originally being a three-year-old and he regained his memories of when he was very small. (This is before his parent's accident by the way- in Kai's memory, they are hardworking parents and Kai thought that they just left him in Aichi's care until they would come back from their business trip.)**

**Umm... special thanks to **_**ronin warriors fanatic **_**who suggested the idea of Kai aging or something similar.**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own CFV.**


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